During the last holidays I was fortunate enough to visit China for two weeks with a group of principals. The purpose of the tour was to investigate Chinese school education as well as visit historic landmarks and sites. The experience proved very worthwhile and changed my perceptions of the degree of importance that China will play in the lifetime of our current students at Marsden. China has a very rapidly expanding economy based on growth. I was astonished at the infrastructure and building programs in evidence everywhere. China is Australia’s number 1 trading partner and I have little doubt that in 20 years it will have the strongest economy globally. What was very much in evidence on the trip is the importance placed on education in China and the resources that are devoted to schools to support learning. I was impressed with student commitment to learning and the quality educational programs on offer. The lifestyle for many, is highly aspirational. China currently has more multi millionaires than any other country and the standard of living is improving rapidly. In the next twenty years and beyond, our young people will be competing directly with vast numbers of well educated, hard working Chinese on a global stage. More than ever, 21st century learning skills will be vital if our young people are going to be successful in the face of such competition. Learning skills that involve critical and creative thinking, effective communication and collaboration skills, a wide variety of literacy skills and life skills that involve flexibility, initiative, social skills and leadership are going to be extremely important for our students. Whilst the trip was edifying, I must say, though, that I was very happy to return to Australia. The clean air here is priceless as are our rights and freedoms afforded us by our robust democracy. We welcome 2 new English teachers this term. They are Ms Denton and Mr Quelch. Our thanks to Mr O’Brien and Ms Taplin for their great work last term. We are also losing Ms Samuel who has secured a position much closer to home. We wish her well at her new school and thank her for excellent contribution to Marsden in computing and mathematics. Gus Vrolyk Principal

M a r s d e n M a i l

Term 2 Week 3

Our next P&C meeting is on Tuesday 26th May in the Library at 7:30pm

Term 2 is a very important term for students as they have their half-yearly exams. Students should be revising their notes for at least 2 weeks before their exams and finding the study techniques that best help them remember their work. One method that has been researched and found to be very successful is for the student to enlist the help of another person who quizzes them on their notes. This recall of the information forges pathways in the brain and the more frequently the points are remembered, the easier it becomes over time. Parents are asked to provide contact details that are current. If a student feels sick, they report to the front office and our first-aid officer tends to the student and ring parents to let them know that their child is unwell. If the contact details are incorrect and we have not been able to contact the people listed for the student, then the student remains at school. This can be of concern, if we have need to ring the ambulance for the student. Attendance is extremely important to success at school. Students who miss school lose the continuity of work done in class and may fall behind. If a student has been marked absent in the morning, we send a SMS to the nominated parent letting them know that their child is absent. If we have not received any reason for the absence after 1 week, then a letter is automatically generated and sent to parents. The Home School Liaison Officer (HSLO) visits our school on a regular basis and monitors students who have an attendance rate of less than 85%. If we have not received any advice from parents to explain the absences then the student will be targeted for investigation by the HSLO. We also send out a letter to parents if we have not received any information about the absences. Leave for holidays taken during the term is counted as an absence, rather than being exempt from the attendance calculation. Ms Paczkowski Deputy Principal

School holiday dates: Term 2 Last day of term Fri 26 June Term 3 Students start Tues 14 July Last day of term Fri 18 Sept Term 4 Students start Tues 6 Oct Last day of term Wed 16 Dec

Calendar May 4-8 Yr 7 & 8 Half Yearly Exams 4-6 Yr 11 Half Yearly Exams Yr 11/12 Ext English Excursion 12-14 NAPLAN J&J Yr 11 Mentor Day Yr 7 & 8 English Excursion—Storm boy 15 Yr 12 Chinese Background excursion 18-22 Yr 9 & 10 Half Yearly Exam 20 Zone Cross Country 25-29 Dental Week 26 P&C meeting 28 Athletics Carnival June 1 Yr 7 & 8 Science Incursion 3 Science Comp

Yr 11 Engineering Excursions 4 Yr 9 & 10 Shakespeare Performance 5 World Environment Day

Yr 12 Drama Excursion 10-12 Yr 11 Crossroads Camp 11 Regional Cross Country Yr 7, 8 & 12 Immunisation Yr 8 & 10 Luka Lesson Performance 15-19 Yr 10 Work Experience 17 Yr 12 Drama Excursion 17&18 Dracula Spectacula 18 Zone Athletics 19 Yr 11 J&J Mentor Day 24 Yr 8 Ice Skating 25 Zone Futsal Gala Day

Uniform Shop Size 14 & 16 (boys and girls) shirts are now available

Year 7 2016 applications closing soon.

Pinnacle Applications -

Gifted and Talented class for Year 7 2016 can be

downloaded from the Marsden Website

Years 11 and 12 Year 11 and 12 students have now completed their half yearly exams. Year 12 students should also have their results. This is an important time for reflection. Teachers have reported that a number of students have already been to see them to discuss how they can do better in the Trial/yearly exams – this is music to my ears! Students should be asking the following questions of themselves: Did I spend enough time preparing for the exams? Were my summary notes as detailed as they needed to be? Did I use a variety of note taking techniques including mind maps? Did I understand what the questions were asking? Did I answer the questions properly? Did I use the terminology from the syllabus in my answers? Did I allow enough time for each question? Have I spoken to my teachers about where I could have improved my results? Have I subsequently answered the questions I did not get full marks for? How can I do better next time? Did I do my personal best? What do I need to do now? The Year 12 reports are currently being written and will be issued to students on 15 May. Year 11 reports will be issued on 5 June. In addition, I have asked the teachers for the top 3 and bottom 3 students in each Year 11 and Year 12 class, to give me an idea of how students are travelling. Parents with students in the top 3 in each class will receive a letter in the mail. Students in the bottom 3 will be interviewed by the Deputy Principal to determine a pathway for improvement. Starting Week 2, Year 12 students will be involved in lunchtime meetings each Friday B. These meetings will address study skills, maximising ATARs, applying for university and TAFE, Bonus Points, ACCESS Schemes, apprenticeships and the Defence Forces. All students are expected to attend. On Tuesday last week, six Year 11 students from the Johnson and Johnson Bridge to Employment (BTE) program had another opportunity to speak to students in the USA using state of the art technology. Maddie, Dylan, Brianna, Kirsten and Jess spoke to students in Pennsylvania, compared their lives and found about how the BTE program has operated at their school. Despite the early start students were keen to meet the students from Pennsylvania. The American students are always jealous of our late start to the school day as they start their classes at 7.30am and finish at 2.30pm.

I would also like to encourage Year 12 students in particular to make an appointment with one of the Careers Advisers to ensure they are on track for whatever pathway they intend to follow next year. It is essential to know the entry requirements for university or TAFE as well as fees and special conditions. In addition, senior students who require a calendar for Term 2 can pick one up in the Careers Office. Mrs Symons Deputy Principal

From English The English faculty would like to extend a warm welcome to two new teachers joining us this term. Ms Megan Denton has been at Condell Park High this year and is now with us as an English teacher, and Mr Anthony Quelch, previously at Wyndham College, has taken up the role of our Drama/English teacher. Lina Okati of Year 10 recently participated in the state wide Plain Speaking Competition for students in Years 9-12. The judges look for speakers who present an eight minute prepared speech and a three minute improvised speech in a highly effective and engaging manner. This year's improvised topic was 'time travel', with participants given three minutes to prepare their speech. Lina's prepared speech on the issue of racism was excellent in exploring the issue. Whilst she didn't make it through to the finals, Lina learned a lot about preparing under pressure and the skills required in public speaking. Well done.

Robotics A huge thank you to the parents and students who helped with the Robotics fundraiser BBQ on Election Day 28/3/15, we raised $410 on this day. You help was really appreciated Ms Brennan Head Teacher Maths/Computing 2015 Cross Country Age Champions & House Points House Points 1

st- BRADMAN 616

2nd

- CUTHBERT 541 3

rd- YOUNG 512

4th- KONRAD 460

Age Champions

AGE FEMALE MALE

12 Olivia Van Uden Martin Sellar

13 Tamsin Low Frazer Garrett

14 Jasmine Koutsouris Ryan Manley

15 Ivy Lao Cameron Baikie

16 Sarah Travis Ben Spenceley

17 Tyan Whitford Nick Sawell

18 Natasha Wareham Zaki Masjidi

Our ANZAC display in the Library

World of Maths Road Show

During Week 9 of term 1, students from Year 7 and Year 8 had the opportunity to participate in the World of Maths Road show. It was an ideal opportunity for students to see how Maths is applied to some real life situations. Students gained insight into problem solving, working in teams and also various Maths principles which are part of the school curriculum. The Road show was a highly engaging session which showed students that Maths can be fun!!

Mrs A Samuel Maths Faculty

ANZAC Day Assembly Congratulations to Ms Fevzi and the history staff and students for the most moving ANZAC Day Assembly. The effort put into this assembly was fabulous and the theme of commemoration rather than glorification was very well received.

Students involved in Galileo Project as part of Big History. Their interactive display was open to the public and received high praise. Congratulations to Mr van

der Heide for giving the students this wonderful opportunity

Camp Gallipoli

Students from Marsden together with Mr Dubria, Mr & Mrs Fabbi and Mrs Campbell slept out at Camp Gallipoli in Moore Park

Despite the cold and the sleeplessness, the students and teachers reported that it was a very worthwhile and humbling experience

Dracula Spectacula is almost here!

Grab your diary and calendar and lock in these dates – Wednesday 17

th and Thursday 18

th June.

These are the dates of Marsden’s musical extravaganza – ‘Dracula Spectacula’. Our cast members - ably led by Ms Idrus, Ms Lee and Ms Langelaar - have been hard at work rehearsing for our two evening performances and matinee. Our set construction is underway and the props are being collected. The costuming is coming together and the makeup will be ghastly - on purpose of course, as the whole of Marsden will be

transformed into a ghoulish vampire den, ready to scare, amuse and delight you!

So make sure you keep the 17th and 18

th June free to be part of Marsden’s musical Dracula

Spectacula. More information will follow about how to purchase your tickets to this unique event.

Business Studies On 28th April seventeen HSC Business Studies students attended an in-depth presentation at the Head Office of McDonald's Australia. Topics focused on included marketing and management. This excursion was supported and organised by the 2realise organisation. The students were able to visit the test kitchen and learn about the latest in product development. All students were engaged in building up their case study materials with the latest statistics on the performance of the company.

Marsden High School band ‘Lockdown’ performing at the Ryde Easter Parade

2015 information for parents and carers

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL DATA

COLLECTION?

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on

School Students with Disability (the national data

collection) is an annual collection that counts the

number of school students with disability and the

level of reasonable educational adjustment they are

provided with.

The national data collection will count students who

have been identified as receiving an adjustment to

address a disability under the Disability

Discrimination Act 1992 (the DDA). The DDA can

be accessed from the ComLaw website at

www.comlaw.gov.au.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT FOR MY CHILD?

The aim of the national data collection is to collect

better information about school students with

disability in Australia.

This information will help teachers, principals,

education authorities and families to better support

students with disability to take part in school on the

same basis as students without disability.

The national data collection is an opportunity for

schools to review their learning and support

systems and processes to continually improve

education outcomes for their students with

disability.

WHY IS THIS DATA BEING COLLECTED?

All schools across Australia collect information

about students with disability. But the type of

information currently collected varies between each

state and territory and across government, Catholic

and independent school sectors.

When implementing the national data collection,

every school in Australia will use the same method

to collect information. Therefore, a government

school in suburban Sydney will collect and report

data in the same way as a Catholic school in

country Victoria and an independent school in the

Northern Territory.

The information provided through the national data

collection will enable all Australian governments to

better target support and resources to benefit

students with disability. The data will help schools to

better support students with disability so that they

have the same opportunities for a high quality

education as students without disability.

WHAT ARE SCHOOLS REQUIRED TO DO

FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY?

All students are entitled to a quality learning

experience at school.

Schools are required to make reasonable

adjustments, where needed, to assist students with

disability to access and participate in education free

from discrimination and on the same basis as other

students.

These responsibilities are outlined in the DDA and

the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the

Standards). The Standards require educators,

students, parents and others (e.g. allied health

professionals) to work together so that students with

disability can participate in education.

The Standards can be accessed via the ComLaw

website at www.comlaw.gov.au.

WHAT IS A REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT?

A reasonable adjustment is a measure or action

taken to help a student with disability access and

participate in education on the same basis as

students without disability. Reasonable adjustments

can be made across the whole school setting (e.g.

ramps into school buildings), in the classroom (such

as adapting class lessons) and at an individual

student level (e.g. extra tuition for a student with

learning difficulties).

WHAT INFORMATION WILL BE

COLLECTED?

Every year your child’s school will collect the

following information for each student with a

disability:

the student’s level of education (i.e. primary or

secondary)

the student’s level of adjustment

the student’s broad type of disability.

The information collected by schools will be

provided to all governments to inform policy and

programme improvement for students with

disability.

WHO WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE

NATIONAL DATA COLLECTION?

The definition of disability for the national data

collection is based on the broad definition under the

DDA.

For the purposes of the national data collection,

students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia

or auditory processing disorder as well as chronic

health conditions like epilepsy, diabetes or asthma,

that require active monitoring by the school, may be

included.

WHO WILL COLLECT INFORMATION FOR

THE NATIONAL DATA COLLECTION?

Teachers and school staff will identify the number of

students with disability in their school and the level

of reasonable adjustment they are provided based

on:

consultation with parents and carers in the

course of determining and providing

reasonable adjustments

the school team’s observations and

professional judgements

any medical or other professional diagnosis

other relevant information.

School principals are responsible for ensuring the

information identified about each student is

accurate.

HOW WILL MY CHILD’S PRIVACY BE

PROTECTED?

Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of all

students and their families is essential. Personal

details such as student names or other identifying

information will not be provided to local or federal

education authorities.

Further information about privacy is available from

www.education.gov.au/notices.

IS THE NATIONAL DATA COLLECTION

COMPULSORY?

All education ministers agreed to full

implementation of the national data collection from

2015. This means that all schools must now collect

and report information annually on the number of

students with disability in their care and the level of

adjustment provided to them.

Information about the arrangements that may apply

to your school in relation to this data collection is

available from your child’s school principal and the

relevant education authority or association of

impendent schools.

Even if your child’s information is not included in the

national data collection, the school is still required to

provide support to your child with education needs.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact your child’s school if you have further

questions about the Nationally Consistent Collection

of Data on School Students with Disability and how

it may involve your child.

You can also visit www.education.gov.au/nationally-

consistent-collection-data-school-students-disability.

An e-learning resource about the Disability

Standards for Education 2005 is freely available for

the use of individuals, families and communities at

http://resource.dse.theeducationinstitute.edu.au/.

From Careers Your Path To Sydney Uni You are invited to join us at our Your Path to Sydney Uni information evening at Revesby Workers’ Club. This year our guest speakers include Professor Tyrone Carlin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Registrar) of the University of Sydney, and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. It is a great opportunity for you and your child to find out more about courses available at the University of Sydney. Students, teachers, and parents can: • Hear about student life at the University of Sydney; • Learn about our Access Sydney: Alternative Pathway schemes; • Learn about the costs associated with going to university; • Find out more about scholarships and study options; and • Speak to faculty and support staff. Event Details When: Wednesday 20 May 2015 from 6 - 9pm Where: Whitlam Room, Revesby Workers’ Club Register: Places are limited so please register online at sydney.edu.au/yourpath Defence Force Recruiting in May. Will be running the following information sessions: NAME DATE LOCATION • ADF Careers Monday 4th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Women in Defence Tuesday 5th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • ADF Education Wednesday 6th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Pilot Monday 11th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Army Reserve Tuesday 12th May 2015 Holsworthy • Army Thursday 14th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Navy Monday 18th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Engineering Tuesday 19th May 2015 Manpower Head Office • ADF Fitness Wednesday 20th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Army Reserve Wednesday 20th May 2015 Pittwater RSL • Health Roles Thursday 21st May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Army Officer Monday 25th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta • Air Force Tuesday 26th May 2015 DFRC Parramatta Information sessions will start at 6.30pm and finish by 8.30pm. Doors will close at 6.45pm. Please give your name to the Careers office so that you can be registered for a session. AVIATION AUSTRALIA will be holding a Cabin Crew Career evening in Sydney on 6th May. Please get the information form the Careers office. What's On in April. Check out what's on for your students below. A Day @ UNSW has a new date in June. Work Experience for year 10 - Term 2 Monday 15th June – Friday 19th June 2015 As part of the Careers program, all year 10 students are taught about work experience and what a wonderful opportunity it provides for them to participate in the world of work for a week. To enhance this experience they have explored areas of career interest and learnt to write resumes. Students are asked to find their own work experience employer, but help is also available. We ask that parents/guardians provide any assistance they can to support them to participate. Work experience helps them to: • test their job and career choices, if known or otherwise • engage with the wider community • learn what employers want in their workforce • build general work skills like workplace communication, self reliance and team work • gain confidence and maturity through participation in an adult work environment • make informed decisions when planning their transition through school and on to further education, training and work. Students need to do a number of things to assist them in making work experience a reality:

• collect their Student Placement Record from the Careers Room at recess or lunch or at the beginning and end of their careers lessons • collect a copy of “What to say when you visit a work experience employer” • write a resume as outlined in class and hand it in to their careers teacher (Ms Hart or Ms Rodely) for correction or amendment (due now!) • visit the careers room to see where last year’s year 10 went for their work experience and follow up by talking to the relevant students in year 11 about what it was like • use social and family networks to locate possible work places of interest to them (however they should not work directly with close family as it is something they can do another time) • look up the yellow pages online • have their completed Student Placement Records back to the Careers Adviser signed by them, the employer and their parent/guardian by Friday 22 May at the latest. All employers who agree to take a student and complete the Student Placement Record and are approved by the school as appropriate are covered by Department of Education and Communities’ insurance. Employers must be provided with either a hard copy or an electronic copy of the Employer’s Guide to Workplace Learning. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need more information or if you can provide a work experience opportunity for another student in year 10. Ms Hart and Ms Rodely Careeers Advisers

Open Days for 2015-2016 APM College of Business Communication The Rocks campus 3 May, 1 Aug 2015 Australasian College of Natural Therapies Pyrmont campus 3 May, 1 Aug 2015 Australian Catholic University Canberra campus 29 Aug 2015 North Sydney campus 5 Sept 2015 Strathfield campus 12 Sept 2015 Australian College of Applied Psychology Information nights 14 July, 12 Aug, 11 Nov 2015 For more information, visit www.acap.edu.au Australian Maritime College Beauty Point campus 30 Aug 2015 Newnham campus 30 Aug 2015 Campus tours can be arranged by appointment year round. Visit www.amc.edu.au/visit-amc Australian National University 29 Aug 2015 For campus tours, visit http://anu.edu.au/study/events/campus-tours Billy Blue College of Design Ultimo campus 3 May, 1 Aug 2015 Charles Sturt University Open day every day. For campus tours/appointments and course information, call 1800 DEGREE (1800 334 733) or visit www.csu.edu.au/campustour CQ University Sydney campus 13 Aug 2015, 2–6pm Virtual Open Day (online only) 10 Sept 2015, 10am–6pm For more information, visit www.cqu.edu.au/events Griffith University Gold Coast campus 26 July 2015 International College of Management, Sydney Manly campus 16 Aug 2015 Jansen Newman Institute Pyrmont campus 3 May, 1 Aug 2015 La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga campus 28 Aug 2015 Mildura campus 19 Aug 2015 For other campuses visit www.latrobe.edu.au/openday Macleay College Surry Hills campus 22 Aug 2015, 16 Jan 2016 For a personalised campus tour, call 1300 939 888 Macquarie University 12 Sept 2015

MIT Sydney For campus tours/appointments and course information, call (02) 8267 1400 or visit mit.edu.au National Art School 29 Aug 2015 SAE Creative Media Institute Sydney and Byron Bay campuses 8 Aug 2015 For up-to-date information, visit http://sae.edu.au/news-and-events/ events or free call 1800 SAE EDU (1800 723 338) SIBT 29 Aug 2015 Southern Cross University Info days and ‘virtual’ info sessions Coffs Harbour campus 7 Dec 2015 Lismore campus 9 Dec 2015 Gold Coast campus 11 Dec 2015 For more information visit www.scu.edu.au/scuinfodays The Hotel School Sydney 12 Sept 2015 For more information visit, hotelschool.scu.edu.au/about/info days University of Canberra 29 Aug 2015 University of New England 1 May 2015 For personalised tours, call 1800 818 865 or visit www.une.edu.au/ campus tours University of Newcastle Newcastle campus (Callaghan) 22 Aug 2015 Central Coast campus (Ourimbah)15 Aug 2015 Port Macquarie campus 6 Aug 2015 University of Sydney 29 Aug 2015 University of Technology, Sydney City and Kuring-gai campuses 29 Aug 2015 University of Western Sydney Parramatta campus 30 Aug 2015 UWS Campus Experience tours are held throughout the year. To register, visit www.uws.edu.au/ campus experience or call 1300 897 669 University of Wollongong Wollongong campus 15 Aug 2015 Sydney CBD campus 29 Aug 2015 UNSW Australia Kensington campus 5 Sept 2015 UNSW Canberra at ADFA 29 Aug 2015 William Blue College of Hospitality Management The Rocks campus 3 May, 1 Aug 2015 For information on school visits days, contact individual institutions

Please log onto Marsden High School website and sign up to receive Newsletter via email.

Also sign up to appropriate year lists to receive information pertaining to your child’s

scholastic year.